Autumn Fallout
by GateMasterGreen
Summary: Cinder was captured by Ruby and slowly, the caring girl has reformed the Fall Maiden. Fleeing from those who would persecute her, Cinder finds herself sent back in time, where she must confront herself and a younger Ruby. Timetravel!AU Falling Petals
1. Chapter 1

Yo Peeps, GateMasterGreen here with a new story. As has been my habit with each new volume, I tend to start a new story. BCB for volume one, SSO for two, SWR for three, and this one for four. Pertaining to the kik code linked on my profile page, I will start releasing chapters there a day or two before I post them here. Also, the basic idea of this was shaped with the help of a few of my readers. For PR and PMR readers, pieces of the next chapters are written, so it's not like I haven't done nothing for them. All this said, story time.

 _ **Disclaimer: I do not own RWBY...**_

Cinder stared at the metal cuffs resting on the ground, open. Looking up, her gold eye caught the attention of the pair of silver that stared back at her. Ruby Rose, her captor, healer, and... savior. Looking again at her past means of imprisonment, she sighed in relief. She was free, but something was wrong. She gave Ruby a concerned look, questioning what could be wrong.

"I shouldn't be letting you go, Cinder." Ruby frowned, poking at the ground with her foot. "This whole thing with Salem is over and now everyone is trying to regroup and with your use as a prisoner of war being over, there is little stopping them from trying to persecute you."

Cinder was unsure of what to say. Well, or try to imply with her expression. Looking at Ruby, she tried to convey her confusion. Gritting her teeth, she whispered in a hoarse voice, "Then why free me?"

Despite it all, Ruby smiled. "Is it so surprising I care about you?" The once young girl, had certainly matured before Cinder's eyes. Going from the short, hyperactive annoyance, to a respectable Huntress that genuinely cared for those she protected.

A thundering of footsteps broke through the quiet moment and Ruby frowned again. "They're here." Looking at Cinder, she opened her arms, as if asking for a hug. "Do you trust me?"

Cinder nodded and let herself be pulled into an embrace. She gasped as she was suddenly jerked along, Ruby zipping past the collection of guards and soldiers outside the tent. For Cinder, the world zipped by, the sensation dizzying. She closed her eye to enjoy the cool rush of air, but jolted in surprise when Ruby cursed.

They were being tailed by two or three of the guard detail, either extraordinary hunters physically, or similar speed semblance wielders. Ruby's face scrunched up into a grimace and she started to speed up. As the tempo of her run sped up, she noticed her grip on Cinder started becoming more difficult to maintain. The Fall Maiden was slipping.

It was a dilemma. She either slowed down to readjust her grip and get caught, drop Cinder possibly and get caught, or hope and pray that she could lose their pursuers before dropping Cinder or readjusting her grip. Time to pray, Ruby supposed. She kept up her speed, cursing under her breath as Cinder slipped further from her grasp, the woman's attempts to stay in her arms not helping. Suddenly, Ruby felt weightless and fell into a forward tumble, rolling and landing on her feet.

In a flurry of motion, she doubled back to try and collect Cinder. She only found a burnt patch of ground as she collapsed to her knees and wept. Cursing herself, she slammed her fist on the ground, tears streaming from her eyes. The pursuers caught up, only to see her in this state and decided to leave, telling their superiors that Cinder fall was dead.

But... was she?

 **XXXGMGXXX**

Cinder's world flashed brightly before she found herself tumbling across the ground, what little remained of her aura, shielding her from the injury from hurtling across the hard ground. Once she slowed and finally stopped, she flopped onto her back, and let out a breathe. Letting her gaze wander, she jolted up when her eyes caught sight of the Beacon CCT Tower. That shouldn't be rebuilt.

Fishing out her scroll, she checked the time. A message telling her to wait for the scroll to sync with the towers gave her a moment to think. Ruby had gifted her a new scroll a few months into her captivity, though any communication capabilities were heavily monitored, meaning attempts to reach her comrades would've been impossible without getting her killed.

Not that she'd want to contact them.

A moment passed and her scroll chimed to let her know it was finished syncing. She blinked in surprise, the date and time were impossible. It was saying that she was in a place and time prior to the fall of Beacon. Looking again at the pristine tower, she had to acknowledge the possibility of the shown date being correct.

The sound of footsteps had her rolling to her feet and hiding hastily. Taking place behind one of the pillars of the structure that surrounded the front courtyard of Beacon, she caught sight of who was approaching. A bubbling in her chest caused her eyes to widen, a feeling she hadn't felt since she completed her collection of the Fall Maiden's powers.

Gazing at the approaching group, her eyes widened as she took in the familiar red fabric of her old dress. The Cinder that walked path had her long black hair flowing freely behind her. Behind her followed Mercury and Emerald, the sight of both confirming the time difference.

Her breath caught in her throat as the other Cinder stopped, turning to where she was hiding. Steeling herself, she stepped out and forward. Emerald's gasp was the first thing she heard, though the younger Cinder seemed unnerved at her appearance. Finally the younger spoke. "I take it that you are me?"

The Fall Maiden nodded.

"How?"

Cue a shrug. She really hadn't a clue.

"You and I are both aware that it's polite to deign questions with spoken responses." The younger Cinder said, frowning.

Motioning at her throat, she attempted to speak, but her voice cracked as it was wont to do.

Cinder's frowned deepened. "I see. Who did this to you? Us?"

Shaking her head, the elder refused to answer. She wouldn't betray her Ruby, the one who showed her what it meant to care for others. Seeing her younger counterpart growing angry, her own rage built. Flaring power, she closed the distance and leaned in to whisper. "You haven't yet completed your power. I am wiser, stronger, and I know all our tricks. You would best no cross me or my wish to protect the one who did this to us." Coughing, she calmed herself before continuing. "You will learn as I have."

"Oh!" A new voice cut in. "You're the students from before!"

Both Cinders turned to look at the interrupting voice, only to see the young Ruby Rose smiling cheerfully. The elder smiled in amusement, while her counterpart frowned in annoyance.

Well, this would certainly be interesting.

 **End of Chapter 1...**

There we go.

 **FROM NOW ON:** Autumn will be the name used for the elder Cinder, given her status as a Fall Maiden. This is to avoid confusion.

Hope you enjoyed this chapter!


	2. Chapter 2

Yo Peeps, GMG here with chapter 2 of AF. Not much to share except... this amazing quote by reader **Eclipsent** : "The best reason is the reason of no reason, for if you have reason then you may lose sight of your true reason."

This gem is from our kik chat and many like it show up fairly often. This quote was especially beautiful, thus it's featured here.

 _ **Disclaimer: I do not own RWBY...**_

Ruby Rose looked at the three students from Haven before glancing at the one she hadn't met before. "Is this your teammate?" she asked them. "She kind of looks like you.." she trailed off, gesturing at Cinder.

"She's not our teammate," Mercury said, grinning at the obvious discomfort Cinder was in. Just because she was his boss, didn't mean he had to play kiss up all the time.

Cinder glared at him before turning back to Ruby. "This is my sister... Autumn."

The older Cinder, now Autumn, waved with a small smile. Reaching out, she shook Ruby's hand before pulling it up and laying a kiss on the back, grinning as the girl's face lit up a bright red. "Nice to meet you," she forced out, her hoarse voice still a strain even a year or so after the incident that caused the injury.

Letting the girl's hand drop, said scythe-wielder stammering awkwardly, she turned to look at the other three, having to hold back a snicker. Cinder looked mortified, probably wondering why she was so friendly to a girl they both knew was Cinder's enemy. Emerald was looking between Autumn, Cinder, and Ruby, a hurt look on her face. Autumn grimaced. Note to self, get the girl to meet someone... Meanwhile, Mercury's smug smirk intensified. It seemed like he had won the all time lottery of black mail on his boss.

"Ruby Rose," squeaked Ruby, drawing Autumn's attention back to the girl. "Would you like a tour? Y'know, if your sister hasn't done so already?" She shuffled nervously, looking down at her feet and her red cheeks holding onto the vibrant hue.

Autumn nodded her assent and motioned for the girl to lead on. As she followed behind the flustered girl, she giggled silently as she heard Mercury. "Little Red, huh?"

This was followed by the scathing hiss from Cinder. "Shut up!"

 **XXXGMGXXX**

It was surreal, being led around the campus. Of course, she had traversed it plenty of times before, both in its ruined form and its current, in tact form. Autumn was more than content to listen to Ruby chatter on about her friends and how the semester was progressing. In fact, it had acted as a bit of catharsis for both in Autumn's time as captive. She'd not be left to silence and the inevitable madness that would come of it, while Ruby was able to get everything off her chest about the war.

Even with the innocent topics spoken of now, Cinder just hummed quietly as she followed. It caused some pain, but the Schnee girl had said it would help her in the long run. She hadn't done it much in her time, not wanting to be interrogated upon recovering her ability to speak coherently, something Ruby had understood and left the decision in her hands.

Speaking of the Schnee, she had actually met the girl on the path Ruby had taken her. The white-haired heiress was accompanied by Yang and Blake, both pleasant enough to Autumn. It was a bit strange seeing the blonde without her prosthetic, but an actual arm.

What had happened was certainly amusing. Much like Mercury, Yang had grinned deviously at the sight of her flustered sister leading an older, very attractive woman around the school. The Fall Maiden had simply stood with Blake and Weiss as all three watched the two sisters hash it out. Ruby tried to get Yang to leave her be, with no success. Meanwhile the trio of girls were snickering as they watched.

She introduced herself to the monochromatic pair, her whispered voice earning her the expected concerned looks. A bright smile allayed their sympathy. Weiss spared a knowing glance at her injured eye, her own scar showing how close she was to such a fate.

Finally, Ruby had given up, throwing her hands in the air before stomping over to Autumn, pouting. It took the Fall Maiden's entire concentration to resist the urge to hug the girl tightly and never let go of the precious thing. As she was pulled away from Ruby's team, a lecherous grin pulled at her lips. There would certainly be benefits to such an action, Autumn admitted. Ruby Rose was certainly something to behold in the coming years and just because she never tried at her former enemy, didn't mean she hadn't planned to.

Her grin dropped. The sad thought of never seeing that Ruby was disheartening in the extreme. So much lost time. Glancing again at the bright smile of the Ruby of now, she couldn't frown for long. This girl was the same as the young woman who had touched Autumn so deeply.

Another thought popped into her mind, pushing her to twine her hand with Ruby's. The following embarrassed dialogue had Cinder beaming as the girl continued their journey around Beacon. Eventually, time passed and the sun was falling behind the horizon. Bidding Ruby fare well, Autumn walked off, an entirely different location in mind.

She would have to remember the look on Ozpin's face when she managed to appear in his office unannounced, with no indication of her arrival. When he had noticed who it was that had appeared his composure quickly settled and he bid her to take a seat.

Ignoring him, she walked up to his desk, looking down at the seated man. "There is need for you to hear me, Ozpin."

Looking up at her over his specs, he nodded. "That much I figured once I caught sight of your sudden appearance on our cameras." He cleared his throat. "Given your conversation with Cinder Fall, I assume you are somehow related to her?"

"I am her."

 **End...**

Another chapter down. With this one starts the pattern of early chapters for kik chatters. Remember to vote on the poll for any PR readers, if you haven't. If you're new to my stories, check out some of my other fics. Adieu for now!

Added: check out Birds Among Dragons by **In The Cold I'm Standing.** This is for anyone who likes both Overwatch ship PharMercy and the game skyrim. The writer did really well with what they have so far, and I thought it'd be nice to help find more readers for it.


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